Sophomore Katherine DeLanty hit .441 with a career-high 15 kills in Stonehill's 3-0 win at Saint Michael's this afternoon. |
Sophomore Katherine DeLanty leads Skyhawks, hitting .441 with career-high 15 kills
COLCHESTER, Vt. (October 3, 2015) – Stonehill College turned in a season-high .338 hitting percentage on its way to a hard fought, 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 31-29) victory at Saint Michael's College this afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference volleyball action at the Ross Sports Center.
Stonehill hit over .300 in all three sets, including a match-best .377 in the third frame, totaling 60 kills over the course of the match with just 12 errors in 142 total attempts.
Sophomore middle blocker Katherine DeLanty (Smithtown, New York/Smithtown West) led the way for the Skyhawks, hitting .441 with a career-high 15 kills, three digs, and two block assists.
Classmate Marykay Nasby (Belle Plaine, Minnesota/Belle Plaine) also posted strong offensive numbers, hitting .360 with 13 kills, while senior outside hitter Delia Phillips (St. James, New York/Smithtown East) registered a .370 hitting percentage with 12 kills and four digs.
Junior setter Taylor Stevens (Foster, Rhode Island/Ponaganset) was the engineer of Stonehill's impressive offensive performance, dishing out a career-high 52 assists to go with seven digs and three block assists. Stevens, who has now eclipsed the 50-assist mark twice in her career, has recorded 40+ in five of her last six matches.
Sophomore libero Claire Manuszak (Indianapolis, Indiana/Bishop Chatard) led the defensive effort with a match-high 16 digs, while classmate Ashley Hitchcock (Warrenville, Illinois/Benet Academy) added 13.
Senior middle hitter Candace Washington (New Carrolton, Maryland/Parkdale) paced the Saint Michael's attack with a .462 hitting percentage and 13 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Megan Priester (Dover, New Hampshire/Dover) added ten kills and eight digs, while junior libero Natalie Moore (Burnt Hills, New York/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) finished with a team-high 14 digs.
The first set this afternoon saw 16 ties, as the two teams battled back-and-forth throughout. After a Stonehill attack error tied the frame at 26, consecutive kills by Hitchcock and DeLanty allowed the Skyhawks to claim a 1-0 advantage in the match.
Much like the first set, the second frame contained 12 ties, with Stonehill pulling ahead for good when a Stevens kill gave the Skyhawks a 20-19 lead. Saint Michael's would draw to within one (21-20) on a kill by Washington, but a 3-0 Stonehill run put the home team on the brink of a 2-0 deficit. The Purple Knights continued to battle, winning the next three points to pull back within one (24-23), before a Hitchcock kill ended their comeback hopes and gave Stonehill a 2-0 set lead.
Neither team held more than a four-point advantage throughout the third frame, as the Skyhawks claimed their largest lead (19-15) on a Saint Michael's attack error. The Purple Knights fought back, eventually tying the set at 24, and the teams continued to trade points until Stonehill took a 30-29 lead on a kill by Phillips. DeLanty prevented the 13th tie of the set and 41st of the contest with a match-ending kill, her 15th of the afternoon.
Stonehill (7-7, 2-2 NE-10) will be back in action on Tuesday night against Bentley University in its 2015 Purple & White Match at Merkert Gymnasium. Saint Michael's (8-5, 1-2 NE-10) is off until next Saturday, when the Purple Knights travel to Waltham, Mass. to take on Bentley.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook.